The Rock Hill region is booming. It’s the perfect time to ask some really tough questions
An article published earlier this month by The Herald highlighted this region’s decades-long run of prosperity.
The article, written by Herald staff reporter John Marks, focused on major businesses that have come to York, Lancaster and Chester counties since 2011, and the billions of dollars in jobs and investment that came with them. The article also pointed out the huge amounts in state, county and local incentives given to bring businesses to the region.
Many companies in the Rock Hill region got incentives, but have they kept their promises?
According to The Herald report, five of South Carolina’s 10 largest business deals since 2011 landed in this three-county region.
We shouldn’t be surprised. This region has had outstanding and visionary leadership.
Leaders like former mayors Betty Joe Rhea, Doug Echols and currently John Gettys who led Rock Hill through the devastating loss of textile mills that had provided thousands of jobs. They’ve guided the region through that challenging time and to a point where Rock Hill is South Carolina’s fifth largest city.
It’s a place where businesses from all directions want to come, whether it’s just across the state line from Charlotte or Austria in central Europe.
An Austrian company on a Rock Hill site becomes partner for ‘the American dream’ in SC
And, of course all this would not have happened without the York County Council who consistently created a strong business atmosphere. As I write, the county is working to land a new deal -- called ‘Project Cobra’ -- that could bring a billion dollars in investment.
York County could strike a $1 billion deal, with ‘Project Cobra’ on the table
Drive along S.C. 49 through Lake Wylie, S.C. 160 through Tega Cay or Fort Mill, and U.S. 521 into Indian Land in Lancaster County. Prosperity is obvious -- busy shopping centers, businesses teeming with employees, good schools, heavy traffic from commuters willing to buy high-priced homes to live in this region.
That prosperity also is obvious in Rock Hill. Drive Cherry Road to the edge of Fort Mill and look at the Riverwalk Community. Or, tour areas like Knowledge Park which is rising near Winthrop University.
You also can go into Chester County where there’s a new whitewater facility in Great Falls that has brought jobs and money. Ernest & Julio Gallo Winery has committed to hundreds of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars, also in Chester County. Giti Tire Manufacturer promised over $500 million in investment and thousands of jobs in Chester County.
I won’t cite every business that has come to this region. If you want a more complete list, read the article referenced above.
We should be proud of all this success. And we should ask some really hard and sensitive questions.
So here goes.
Among the 22 schools in the Rock Hill School District, 13 new schools now are eligible for free and reduced lunch programs. That brings the total to 19. There previously had been six. Only three aren’t eligible.
Credit the school board for recently deciding it would provide free lunch for every student. That was the right thing to do.
But how did this happen in a bustling city like Rock Hill? How did families needing assistance rise so dramatically?
You also can drive around Rock Hill’s south side and you’ll see signs of improvement. Then you’ll wonder why prosperity there seems relatively slow.
Just this week in Chester County, developers withdrew proposed plans for subdivisions with $400,000 homes to an area just north of I-77.
Two projects pitched 1,500 new Chester County homes. Neither will happen
Part of the discussion around the proposal was about building homes that people there couldn’t afford. Some people pointed out that the county needs money for better schools and public safety.
I often drive that area of I-77 in Chester County. There’s prosperity.
However, I’ve also driven in areas of Chester like Dawson Drive or near Eureka Village. Places that have fallen in disrepair and poverty.
The old cliche goes like this: “A rising tide lifts all boats.”
The facts show us there has been a decade-long rising tide of investment in this region. The evidence also shows us that prosperity is fragmented.
I understand many of the geographical, political and budgetary tenets.
Business location is important for many reasons. Budgeting is specific with limited amounts of money to do a host of different things. Elected leaders get re-elected because they represent the people who vote for them. The leaders then get re-elected by getting results those voters want.
And, of course, people’s personal choices also impact their conditions.
Still, billions of dollars flow through this three-county Rock Hill region. Shouldn’t we demand greater vigilance in dealing with poverty?
The Herald is committed to writing about this region’s strong leadership and impressive success. Our staff is equally committed to writing about areas not-yet touched by the success.
Awareness is the first step to a solution. I believe we can do better. Don’t you?
